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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27221587">If We Shadows Do Offend</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaerra/pseuds/Kaerra'>Kaerra</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Background ships that might go larger eventually will be Sylvgrid and Lysihardt, Exploration of crests and the double standard for noble women, F/M, Healing over time from trauma, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Rating for language and exploration of mental illness, Will update ship tags and any warning tags as we go along</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:21:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,718</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27221587</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaerra/pseuds/Kaerra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“I have killed countless Imperials trying to get to Edelgard!” Dimitri raged, swinging the lance in wide arcs, as though he were battling an invisible enemy. “The ground is red with their blood, and always they rise. They are here now, and you stand there watching!”</p><p>Byleth crossed the room and withdrew her sword, joining him. Annette spoke aloud without fully realizing it, till Felix turned to look at her, his bleak expression mirroring her words. </p><p>“I don’t think the old Dimitri is coming back.” </p><p>~After the Blue Lions’ reunion reveals the shocking extent of Dimitri’s mental instability, everyone is is forced to work together to build the Kingdom Army while he tries to heal. Can Felix, who has resisted everything his father stands for, embrace a leadership role he never wanted, while Annette leads the charge into determining what separates the Kingdom from Edelgard’s goals—even as she finds herself in agreement with the Emperor on the need for reforming the crest system?</p><p>The dark AU that explores one thing the canon never answers: Without Dimitri as its figurehead, what does the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus stand for?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Against a Sea of Troubles</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This chapter signals the end of my moratorium of writing angst in fics. Mainly, I really wanted to do something in the M category to play around with several intriguing ideas. This fic wouldn’t exist without the amazing support and brainstorming ideas of MadameHyde and roxyryoko—thank you both so much to convincing me this is the kind of thing I can and should be writing. Also to my other supportive friends, I appreciate you hugely! </p><p>I’m not sure on the update schedule yet, since I’m still writing “The Raven and the Bluebird,” and have other projects as well, including zines and a big bang fic. But I love this one, and I want to see where it goes, so thanks for joining me!</p><p>Mild TW that an OC uses slightly disrespectful language about mental illness in this chapter. Historically, many people feared mental illness as "madness", and that's a context I've embedded into this AU, since one of the goals is to explore how wrong that concept is. All the same, I just wanted to give anyone a heads up, it's near the end of the chapter.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>18 Ethereal Moon, 1185</p><p>Dominic Manor</p><p> </p><p>A week before the Blue Lions reunion, Annette Fantine Dominic was evicted from her home.</p><p>“I need you to hear me out without argument till I’m finished.” Yvette Dominic had burst into Annette’s room that evening, where the latter was reading the latest smuggled Reason tome on her bed. “You must go to the reunion you’ve talked about, and without delay. Leave tomorrow at first light.”</p><p>Annette’s mouth had gaped like a fish out of water, and only shock kept her from interrupting her mother’s uncharacteristic monologue. After five years of living in an estate that felt more like a prison than haven, having lost contact with all of her Academy friends, Annette had never expected to be allowed to attend the reunion. Her mother’s dramatic swing in favor of Annette’s <em>leaving Dominic territory by herself</em> defied belief.</p><p>“Pack light and take only what you need. I can’t get you more than Dewdrop, your favorite mare, and she won’t be speedy enough for you to outrun trouble on the road. I wish I could send a retainer with you, but it’s not—” Yvette shook her head, and started pacing.</p><p>For a prolonged moment, the only sound in the room was the swish of her mother’s skirts as she moved.</p><p>“Mother… may I speak?” Annette asked, hating how uncertain she sounded. It felt like the entire world had realigned in an instant, and the wrong phrase could send it tumbling backwards.</p><p>Yvette nodded curtly. “Be quick, child, we haven’t a moment to lose.”</p><p>“What is going on?”</p><p>“There isn’t adequate time to explain, but Cornelia has made plans that I cannot allow. Find your father; he is in Fraldarius, is he not?”</p><p>Annette blinked, trying to parse through all of the information her mother had flung at her. She settled on asking the only question Yvette might answer.</p><p>“How do you know about Father’s whereabouts? I haven’t heard anything from any friends in the Kingdom in years.”</p><p>“I’ve got my own people with ears on the ground. That’s all you need know, for your own safety,” her mother said firmly, giving Annette a warning look. “Lord Rodrigue can keep you safe if you ask for his protection, if nothing else.”</p><p>“Felix— I mean, his son offered me a place there, before Uncle sided with Cornelia,” Annette stammered. “But I don’t know if I’d be welcome there now. None of my friends have written me in years. They probably think I’m a traitor now.”</p><p>It had eaten away at her heart, week after passing week, knowing she was divided from her friends forever. All of them had been loyal to Prince Dimitri, and, with his execution months after the Adrestian Empire’s invasion of Garreg Mach, Annette’s regular correspondence had dried up. Those still in eastern Faerghus—what was left of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus—had abandoned her first, probably from defending their territories against Cornelia’s quickly raised army. But even her dearest friend Mercedes von Martritz, who had returned to her adoptive father’s house in Fhirdiad, had stopped writing over three years ago. They all must despise her now, thinking she shared her uncle’s loyalty. It was the farthest thing from the truth.</p><p>“My darling girl, anyone who hears you speak at length about the subject will immediately know your allegiances are not like your uncle’s,” Yvette said, sounding like her normal motherly self for the first time since the conversation began. “You will see them all at your reunion, right? Find somewhere to go, just please, promise me you won’t come back here until the war is over.”</p><p>“Can’t you come with me?” Annette staggered to her feet, and reached out to grab her mother’s hands. “If Cornelia is planning something terrible, you could be in danger!”</p><p>Yvette gripped her fingers, and fear flashed briefly in her pale blue eyes. “It’s not possible, Annie. I can buy you time by making up an excuse—you’re tending to a sick tenant farmer at the edge of the territory, and aren’t expected to return for several days. Otherwise your uncle’s men would find you within a day.”</p><p>Annette gulped, realizing the weight behind her mother’s statement: Yvette was acting against Baron Dominic’s wishes.</p><p><em>That</em> was why the secrecy, the urgency—something had happened that extended past her mother’s ability to fall in line with the House leader’s policies, like she’d done ever since Dominic bended the knee to Cornelia’s demands. Taken together, it all made a sick kind of sense—how her uncle always shut down any request she’d made to leave the territory, even to go to Fhirdiad for new clothes, or to visit her friend Ashe Ubert in the neighboring territory of Rowe.</p><p>“Is this related to why I’m not allowed to leave Dominic? Please, mother, I need to understand.”</p><p>“There isn’t time for this discussion!” Yvette protested, dropping her daughter’s hands in favor of wringing her own nervously. “You must make haste and pack.”</p><p>Tears sprang into Annette’s eyes, making her mother’s appearance blurred around the edges of her graying light brown hair. She hated this beyond description—being always outside the inner circle, lacking the power to even decide whether she left the estate, and what she did with her time. To suddenly be tossed out of her circumscribed life after five years of dodged questions, frustration, and fear felt scary and horribly unfair. It took all of her will power to back away from her mother, and restrain the angry words that threatened to burst out of her mouth.</p><p>She crossed the room to open her tall standing wardrobe and begin sorting through her assortment of carefully folded gowns. Buried in the back of the top shelf was her old warlock uniform from the Academy, which had still fit the last time she’d tried it on in a fit of boredom, aside from a bit of tightness across the chest. If Mercedes came to the reunion and forgave Annette for her uncle’s decisions, perhaps she’d be willing to help with making alterations. If Mercie wouldn’t forgive her, though… who else would?</p><p>A strained silence settled over the room while Annette picked through her clothes and shoes and chose a combination of favorites and those designed purely for practicality. She worked without comment, until her mother surprised her by providing the outlines of an explanation.</p><p>“Cornelia has always operated under the assumption that all of the Faerghus Dukedom nobles pledged more than words of fealty.” Yvette’s voice was low, laced with bitterness and a kind of exhausted resignation. “Other Houses have paid steep prices for guaranteeing their prominence and safety within the Dukedom. As a minor Barony, we haven’t been forced into it before, but—”</p><p>A loud knock at the door startled her into silence. Annette shot her mother a panicked look, and shoved her leather satchel behind the wardrobe at her mother’s wild gesticulations.</p><p>“Yes?” Yvette answered, her voice somehow restored to its normal tone.</p><p>“Oh, there you are, my lady,” said a voice Annette immediately recognized, belonging to her uncle’s steward, Francois. “Baron Dominic would like to speak to you about settling the arrangements with Fhirdiad.”</p><p>Arrangements with Fhirdiad? What did that mean? Annette stared at her mother, eyes wide, but Yvette wouldn’t meet her gaze.</p><p>“Certainly, Francois, I shall be there directly,” she said. “You may go about your business, thank you.”</p><p>“Very good, my lady.”</p><p>Annette remained frozen in place, listening to the sound of Francois’s retreating footsteps in the hallway. Her mother’s next reaction took her completely aback.</p><p>Yvette darted across the room and wrapped her arms around her daughter, enveloping her in a tight embrace. Annette instantly responded, clinging to her fiercely, fighting off the tears that threatened to surge, this time from grief. She really was leaving, perhaps forever.</p><p>Her mother released her and stepped back, her hands working frantically at the clasp of the necklace she always wore, a sapphire encased in filigreed silver. Annette gaped when Yvette reached out and placed the pendant around her own neck, then stepped behind her to fasten the chain properly. Task complete, she came back to Annette’s line of sight.</p><p>“Mother… I can’t take this, you wear it every day!” Annette’s tone sounded more like a whimper than a convincing protestation.</p><p>“The necklace was always intended for you, when the time was right,” Yvette said, her own voice tight with emotion. “It belonged to my mother, and hers before her, and even farther back. It will help keep you safe—there’s something about it that helps with Reason magic. Please always keep it on.”</p><p>Annette fingered the pendant, still warm from her mother’s body heat, and nodded.</p><p>“My love and heart travel with you, everywhere,” Yvette said, cupping Annette’s face in her hands. “Just make sure you listen to yours whenever you come to a crossroads, and your path doesn’t seem obvious. When this war ends, we’ll be reunited; I’m sure of that.”</p><p>Annette attempted a brave smile. “Then I will see you soon!”</p><p>Her mother chuckled. “That you shall—I’ll be back to rouse you an hour before dawn. We’ll only have minutes to get you out before anyone notices; you mustn’t tarry when the time comes.”</p><p>“I’ll be ready,” Annette said, gripping the pendant in her hand.</p><p>If this was truly her best chance at freedom from whatever horrible thing Cornelia had planned, she was going to grab it with everything she had.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*  *  *</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>25 Ethereal Moon, 1185</p><p>Garreg Mach Monastery</p><p> </p><p>Traveling alone was not the grand adventure Annette had always dreamed of as a girl, ensconced in tales of high romance and daring escapes from evil villains. The stories had never prepared her for life on the road as a single woman during war time, unable to escape notice even with her bright hair pinned in tight braids and hidden under the hood of her heavy wool cloak. The stares that followed her in every inn she’d frequented for a quick meal felt like palpable weight; all of them judgmental for her lack of a male escort.</p><p>Even with Dewdrop, the early winter snow made Annette’s progress much slower than she’d anticipated, especially once she left the more temperate climate of Dominic and made her way across House Rowe’s territory. Although her mother had provided her with enough coin to stay nightly at inns and have plenty left over, Annette had taken up residence in the stables of the nearest farm each night. She’d left each family a gift in her gratitude, although most had insisted it was no trouble to them if she slept in the hayloft.</p><p>The snow become more of an issue once she’d gotten closer to the mountains surrounding Garreg Mach Monastery, and from there her progress had slowed to a crawl. If she’d thought she’d disliked camping during weekend missions in the Academy, shivering under piles of clothes under her bedroll amidst piles of hay was a completely different reality. She would have given anything for a bed to sleep in, but most of the towns she’d known before the war were boarded up and silent, or no one answered her knocks after dark.</p><p>“So much for Edelgard’s glorious world without the Church of Seiros,” Annette muttered through chattering teeth, from the wind that had accompanied her along the road to Garreg Mach. “Everyone is starving, and where is the Empire’s monetary aid for these poor people?”</p><p>Dewdrop whinnied, as if in agreement. Annette stroked the mare on her slightly matted mane—the wind was brutal on more than just humans this high up the mountain path—and steered her up another hairpin turn. It was nearly the day of the reunion, if her count of the days was still accurate, although she had decided to sleep early and rise for travel at night for the remainder of the way. Hours had already passed in the darkness, with only the moonlight to light her way.</p><p>She’d barely seen a soul since passing the last tiny town, where the Mayor’s wife leaped on her coin like she’d never seen one before. The poor woman was so grateful, she had personally escorted Annette to her private tub, filled with lukewarm water, and had insisted Annette nap on her bed and sup on a filling portion of bread and stew before departing.</p><p>“Haven’t seen nary a soul in weeks till you, lass!” she’d informed Annette cheerfully over the meal. “Not many left round here since the monastery fell. Curse those heartless Adrestians! One bad harvest and we’d all be done for, I tell you.”</p><p>Annette had tried to tip her another coin, but the kindly lady wouldn’t hear of it. “Off with you now, just be wary once you’re within the old town of Garreg Mach. They say a rough lot have moved in. Bandits, you ken.”</p><p>Annette had taken the words to heart, taking extra precautions to make sure she had total awareness of her surroundings, eyes constantly on the lookout for movement. If she had room for humor, she’d have laughed at herself for how similar her behavior was to Felix’s during weekend missions at the Academy. While the others had joked and talked among themselves, Felix had refrained, staring into the surrounding foliage like he’d expected a sneak attack at any moment. Sylvain had taken to calling him their advance scout, and they’d all giggled at the glare Felix had shot in his direction. Now Felix would be the one laughing—if he was still alive.</p><p>Annette’s shiver this time wasn’t from the weather.</p><p><em>Don’t think like that, Annette Fantine Dominic! s</em>he chided herself. <em>No one short of Cornelia </em><em>or Edelgard</em><em> herself could have beaten him in a one-on-one battle. And you’d have heard if the scion of Fraldarius had fallen; it would be all over F</em><em>ó</em><em>dlan.</em></p><p>At daybreak, a few short hours away, she would know just how many of her friends had survived the war. Maybe after many heartfelt apologies, they’d all accept her into their circle once more, and she’d finally be able to breathe again. She had options, even if Felix didn’t show up or no longer wanted her services as a mage. It was going to be okay.</p><p>That conviction lasted until Dewdrop carried them through the gates of Garreg Mach, into a ghost town.</p><p>The once proud monastery loomed in the distance like the hallowed out husk of a venerable ruin. It had been five years since she’d set foot in this place, and memories flooded her with every clop of Dewdrop’s hooves against the cobblestone road. The town was eerily dark, yet mostly the same as it had appeared before; not fully gone to ruin as Annette had expected. It took a few more blocks of passing silent timber-framed buildings before she figured out the best analogy: the city felt like it had been placed under a sleeping curse, like in one of her favorite knights’ tales from childhood, “Sir Roland and the Cursed Princess.” Experiencing the harrowing description of that story for herself was beyond eerie.</p><p>“We aren’t here to cause trouble,” said a voice in the distance, one that sounded remarkably like Ashe’s. Annette’s heart skipped a beat, then started pounding.</p><p>Her friends were here, and so was a potential enemy. The mayor’s wife had been right. She had to help them!</p><p>Annette yanked on the reins, and Dewdrop halted to a stop. She hiked her skirts and dismounted as quietly as possible. Holding the reins near the bridle, she looked around for a safe place to hide her horse and protect it and her belongings from theft. Fortunately, she was near the entrance to the marketplace, and there was a lot of space in the old blacksmith’s smithy, which was empty except for items that thieves had found too heavy to move, like the anvil.</p><p>It took her about five minutes to secure her horse, feed it some carrots, and take the bulk of her most important possessions in a bag slung over her back. She’d also left a deterrent for thieves attached to the fringe of the blanket beneath her saddle—a magically charged crystal, historically used to frighten away horse thieves in Loog’s day. An old history of magic book had provided the spell, and Dominic territory’s small gemstone mine had yielded a usable crystal. It didn’t contain the power of a live cast from a mage, but if the crystal was disturbed without being disarmed first, it would release enough of a magical charge to temporarily blind and deafen anyone who messed with it. She would certainly hear it and be in a position to fight off opponents.</p><p>Setting off on foot, Annette asked the goddess to steer her so she didn’t trip on something in the semi-darkness of pre-dawn, and kept her ears open. It wasn’t long before she heard something that chilled her to her bones: Mercedes’s voice attempting to reason with someone.</p><p>“I’m afraid all we have is food, which we’d be happy to share if we had more supplies. If you have your own, I’d be happy to bake for you in the old monastery dining hall.”</p><p>“You think we’re interested in your food?” someone with a surprisingly youthful voice asked, with a guttural laugh.</p><p>“You’re in Gervaise’s town without permission, so you gotta pay, that’s the rules,” said another voice, this one sounding a bit older, more like a teenage boy whose voice had recently deepened.</p><p>Who was Gervaise?</p><p>“Look, I grew up on the streets, I get that times are hard,” Ashe said, his voice surprisingly gentle. “We’re not here to harm your livelihood or compete, we’re just meeting friends in the cathedral.”</p><p>“You, a street rat like us?” the first voice dripped with disbelief. “Made out awful well for yourself with a leather kit like that. And you talk like one of them nobles.”</p><p>“I was rescued by one,” Ashe said. “Otherwise I’d be living with other Kin like you.”</p><p>Annette picked up her pace, wondering what Ashe meant by the word “Kin.” Was it something to do with being on the streets? How odd he’d never mentioned it before, despite his willingness to answer questions about that part of his life. Clearly there was a lot more than he’d told them.</p><p>“I would be happy to show you some of the trades I have learned to assist you in getting out of this life,” Ashe continued, his voice earnest. “But I must ask you to let us pass unhindered. I promise I will come back and teach you.”</p><p>“Whatta fine speech, lads!” said a new voice, which was female, and colder than either of the other two. “Like we’re just gonna believe those pretty words. Probably here to loot the monastery, not that you’ll find much.”</p><p>“That is a sin against the goddess!” Mercedes said, affronted. “Stealing to eat is an entirely different thing from stealing for greed!”</p><p>“And what has the church ever done for us?” sneered the young woman. “I don’t need no lecture from a bishop. Hand over those packs or prepare to surrender a lot more than your goods.”</p><p>Annette readied a Wind spell, feeling the magical energy burn at her fingertips, and quickened her pace towards the street the words emanated from, just ahead and to the right. Turning the corner, she came upon the scene: Ashe and Mercedes’ backs facing her, neither of them in fighting stance, and three teenagers, two younger boys and one young woman who looked about the age of the average Academy student. All three were unkempt, wearing worn clothes, faces smudged with dirt, and each had pulled out a dagger and sank into attack stance.</p><p>Ashe spoke as Annette raised her hands to make a glyph.</p><p>“We’re not here to fight you. I will ask one last time to stand down and let us pass before we’re forced to hurt you.”</p><p>The young woman’s response was to laugh, and dash forward. Ashe easily dodged her attack—all of them had trained alongside far more talented fighters over the years—and she immediately walked into Annette’s unleashed Wind spell.</p><p>“Who the hell are you?” the young woman spat, staggering in place, looking between her and Ashe.</p><p>Annette didn’t give her a chance to choose whom to attack, blasting her with a Cutting Gale, and knocking her to her knees. Mercedes had also gone to Reason spells, and had one of the teenage boys quaking on the ground after two casts of Bolganone. Ashe was circling the other, his mini bow in his hands. The teenage girl glared into Annette’s eyes, something akin to hatred glowing in the dark irises, and lurched to her feet.</p><p>“This means war, and you’re all dead once Gervaise finds out!” she shouted. “Clear out, Sacha and Gwid!”</p><p>The teen who’d fought Mercedes scrambled to his feet, staggering badly, but following her lead. The other boy, who hadn’t taken the magical beating, turned his back on Ashe and sprinted, thinking he could outrun the Sniper. He learned his mistake when two arrows pinned his shirt to the wooden post of a building he’d darted towards.</p><p>“Oy, what have you done?” he shouted, struggling to pull out the arrows without success.</p><p>Ashe jogged across the road and pinned the boy’s arms to his sides.</p><p>“Annette, what a great sneak attack!” he said over his shoulder. “It’s wonderful to see you!”</p><p>“I’m glad I got here in time to help!” Annette responded, taken aback by Ashe’s open gratitude. He didn’t seem distrustful of her at all—there was hope yet!</p><p>Wanting to prove her loyalty beyond doubt, Annette ran towards the struggling youth, her hands alight with another spell. “If you try anything, kid, I’ll hit you with Excalibur.”</p><p>The boy’s hazel eyes widened in his freckled face, and he fell into sullen silence. Up close to him, Annette had to amend his age—he couldn’t be more than eleven or twelve. The quiver in his shoulders and limbs betrayed his fear, and she felt a wave of pity sweep over her. To think, that could so easily have been any of them, had they not been born to noble families or adopted by one.</p><p>“Do your worst, witch,” he spat.</p><p>“Now that’s enough of your rude language for one night,” Mercedes chided, joining Annette. “This monastery doesn’t belong to your bandit leader any more than it does to us. We’re not here for anything other than a reunion, like we told you.”</p><p>“Gervaise don’t care what you’re here for,” the boy muttered. “He’s claimed this territory for his gang, and we gotta enforce the rules or we’re out on the streets again.”</p><p>Annette blinked in surprise, and turned a questioning gaze at Mercie. She shrugged in confusion.</p><p>Ashe, on the other hand, nodded. “That’s how those leaders keep their gangs in line, especially children they ‘rescue’ from the streets. It’s kindness at first, the first real meal you’ve had in weeks, and before your gratitude has fully sunk in, they put you to work thieving. If you don’t deliver, you don’t eat. Or worse.”</p><p>The boy tilted his head and studied Ashe in appraisal. “You really weren’t lying about being Kin, huh?”</p><p>“I couldn’t lie about that,” Ashe said, pulling the second arrow out of the post. “Now, if you finally believe us, why don’t you lead us to Gervaise’s lair and let us take care of him for you?”</p><p>“What?” Annette and the boy said in unison.</p><p>Ashe looked at each of them in turn. “Gang leaders are usually cruel in their methods of punishment for failure. If we don’t challenge him, our young friend here will be whipped or worse. Isn’t that right, lad?”</p><p>“Gwid, sir,” the boy said, with a curt nod. “And you have the way of it. Last kid to fail was whipped so bloody he couldn’t stand. Died of fever not long after.”</p><p>Annette exchanged a look of horror with Mercedes, whose expression mirrored her own. This was what life was like on the streets—orphaned children forced into serving cruel masters for food? What other things had her mother and uncle kept her from knowing about in this war torn land?</p><p>“You can count on us!” Mercie said, steel underlying her words. Annette’s fist pump signaled her own agreement.</p><p>Ashe smiled and released his grip to extend his hand for a handshake. The boy reached out and shook.</p><p>“Take us there, Gwid, and we’ll see what we can do about securing your freedom.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*  *  *</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Less than ten minutes later, Ashe and Gwid led their group away from the monastery entrance and towards the eastern part of the town, where the wealthier merchants had lived. Annette and Mercedes followed, riding together on Dewdrop, with Annette manning the reins. Their greetings had been warm, but brief, and Annette had panicked over what else to say, given Mercie’s quick lapse into silence. Her thoughts scattered like a spell gone awry over how to frame her apology to her best friend. In an attempt to quell her anxiety, Annette listened to the snatches of conversation between Ashe and Gwid, like they would somehow provide an answer to her conundrum.</p><p>“We been here a while, bit over two years like, moving from house to house as it served our purposes. Stayed in the monastery a few nights, despite the rumors of it being haunted,” the boy informed Ashe. “But Gervaise is real nervous since the Golden Demon showed up, stinking of blood.”</p><p>“What a fearsome name!” Mercedes said. She was apparently listening to them as well.</p><p>Gwid looked back at them and nodded. “He’s all that and more.”</p><p>“Is that a gang leader trying to steal your master’s territory?” Ashe asked.</p><p>“Naw, someone like that he’d know how to deal with. The Demon’s a soldier—someone who knows how to kill fast and without mercy. We only seen him a few times in the monastery, but we hear his shouting regular. I know a madman when I see one, and he’s crazed as they come. We found the remains of an Imperial battalion just outside of town the night he showed up. Not just dead, they were gutted, like he’s some kind of beast—”</p><p>Mercedes gasped at the description, and Gwid looked up and shot her an apologetic glance. “Sorry to offend you, church lady, but that’s the way of it. Before he showed up, I thought Gervaise was the scariest man on the streets. Now we’re all ‘fraid of the Golden Demon, and he won’t leave. Been here going on four days.”</p><p>Ashe turned back and met Annette’s eyes, then Mercedes’ in sequence, his brows raised in question. Annette realized he was silently asking them if they had any idea whom among the Blue Lions might have arrived for the reunion in that kind of condition. She wracked her brain for possibilities, and shook her head. She felt Mercedes shrug her shoulders behind her. Their reunion sounded like it was doomed to devolve into a series of battles with villains—worse than any she’d ever read in print.</p><p>Ashe nodded, and returned his attention to Gwid, asking for details about Gervaise’s hideout and operation. Gwid answered, talking in lingo that was unfamiliar to Annette: Kin rules of combat and conduct, scouting towers, marks and scores… it was like the rules to a game she’d never seen before. Clearly she’d be of no use to either of them until it came time to fight.</p><p>Contemplatively fingering her pendant, hidden beneath her ivory colored gown out of sight, Annette glanced at Mercedes over her shoulder. Maybe she could just try to start conversation in general and see how it went before sliding in her apology.</p><p>“Did you lose touch with the others, too?” she asked quietly. “After Cornelia, I mean?”</p><p>“If you mean our friends in eastern Faerghus, yes, I think they stopped being able to send letters safely into the Dukedom,” Mercedes answered, tone low. “I’ve stayed in touch with Ashe primarily, and some friends in the Alliance. Also with Dorothea, although she went back to Enbarr and didn’t think she’d be able to make it here.”</p><p>“I hope they all come today,” Annette said fervently. “I miss everyone so much!”</p><p>Mercedes jerked behind her in the saddle, like she’d been startled. Worried, Annette scanned the road ahead for scans of attack, but only saw Ashe and Gwid carrying on their conversation. Whatever Mercedes had reacted to, it wasn’t an attack; that only left something Annette had said. Goddess, would nothing go right this day?</p><p>Tears pricked at her eyes, but quickly extinguished when the older woman spoke again.</p><p>“Annie, if you forgive the question, why are you here?” Mercedes sounded hesitant, as though she already regretted her words. “I was certain your uncle wouldn’t let you leave.”</p><p>That was the last thing Annette had expected to be asked, but it was the exact kind of opening she’d hoped for.</p><p>“Well, he um… my mother sent me here,” she said. “I was so lonely the last four years without everyone.”</p><p>Mercedes’ lips were set into a frown. “Did you ever see any of the letters I sent you? Inviting you to Fhirdiad?”</p><p>Her words felt like a punch to the gut.</p><p>“What?!” Annette’s jaw dropped, and she nearly lost her balance. Mercie reached out and steadied her before she could faceplant on the cobblestones.</p><p>“You sent me letters?” Annette asked numbly. “How many?”</p><p>“I don’t know... at least twelve?” Mercedes said. “Your uncle or your mother always responded on your behalf, saying you were unwell or too busy. I wasn’t sure if that was them being overprotective or because that’s what you really wanted.”</p><p>The shock racing through Annette’s veins quickly turned rancid, like poison. Her uncle and mother had <em>concealed letters from her </em><em>all of this time</em><em>?</em></p><p>“They wrote you back?!” she spat. “I can’t believe it! I never saw a single letter, Mercie. Not one.”</p><p>“Oh no...” Mercedes looked as horrified as Annette felt.</p><p>“I thought the whole time that everyone hated me because my uncle had sided with Cornelia,” Annette said bleakly. “And to think I was utterly wrong, all of these years...”</p><p>Mercedes laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Oh, Annie. I’m so sorry I’ve upset you.”</p><p>“You didn’t, Mercie! How dare they isolate me like that?!” Like storm waves cascading over a dike, the words flowed unimpeded. “My mother is the one who made me leave, because of something Cornelia was going to do. She wants me to go to Fraldarius, to Father. But what if our other friends all think I ignored them, too? What if they think I sided with that witch this whole time, because my mother and uncle told them that?!”</p><p>Rage competed with grief, like her fury had tapped into the well of loneliness and inadequacy that had fueled her entire time at Dominic Manor. To think, all of this time she’d thought her friends had abandoned her, when it was really her uncle’s doing! And her mother had gone along with it, never saying a word… how could she do that? What danger from Cornelia had led them to choose to isolate her so much, even knowing the pain it caused her? It was too much to think through right now. Her emotions swelled and threatened to erupt.</p><p>Mercedes’s arms circled her quivering shoulders, and the gesture felt as warming as one of her healing spells. “Hush, one thing at a time. The past is over, you’re here now. Soon we’ll see all of our friends, and you can explain everything if you need to. I’m just so glad to know it wasn’t you refusing to see me, because of our last fight from the Academy.”</p><p>Annette sagged against her friend. “Never ever, Mercie! That was all my fault, I shouldn’t have said what I did—”</p><p>“Oye!” The urgency of Gwid’s tone cut off her words, and both women trained their attention on him. “We’re not far now, ya gotta shut your traps.”</p><p>Annette and Mercedes quickly subsided. Ashe and Gwid walked over and stood to the left of Dewdrop to have a last conference before they officially entered Gervaise’s domain. Annette listened keenly while Ashe asked after the last details about the entire operation, the number of gang members, and their loyalty.</p><p>“Tain’t that many of us left. Ague took a few kids last month, and the Empire caught a few afore that and forced ‘em into the Army. There’s just ten ‘o us now. Maybe Sacha will refuse to fight; he hates Gervaise more than anyone ‘cept the Almyran girl. But look out for Fleer, that were her with us earlier. She’s his second. By now, they’re waiting for me to come in, or not show at all. But they’ll be looking for ya if I don’t.”</p><p>Ashe nodded, and asked Annette and Mercedes to dismount, which they did without mishap. In a low voice, he discussed finding a place to hide Annette’s horse, which was only likely to get in the way if they had to fight. Gwid chimed in with a safe location he used as a secret storehouse of his own things, and they agreed to head there first before proceeding.</p><p>“Returning to what you said earlier, Ashe. It there’s fighting, I’m not sure Annie and I will be enough to back you up if we have to fight nine or ten people,” Mercedes said, her face pinched with worry. “Oh, I wish the others were here!”</p><p>Ashe gave her a reassuring smile. “Hopefully they’ll arrive soon, but my plan doesn’t involve you or Annette fighting at all. There’s a way to settle this by Kin rules.”</p><p>Gwid’s eyes grew wide in his freckled face, and made a strangled sound in his throat. “You can’t mean that!”</p><p>Ashe met his gaze, his face more sober than Annette had seen since his adoptive father, Lord Lonato, had died—at the hands of the Blue Lions house more than five years before.</p><p>“I'll challenge Gervaise for leadership by combat,” he said. “He’ll be bound to the established rules that way.”</p><p>Gwid swallowed. “But if you fail, then...”</p><p>Ashe looked at each of them in turn before he answered.</p><p>“Then we better make sure I don't lose.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Presume Not That I Am the Thing I Was</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>When a straightforward mission goes awry, Annette learns how ugly the world has grown in five years of war—and how much all of them have changed.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is up so much later than I’d intended, and I appreciate everyone’s patience! This chapter grew and grew until it got split once, and then twice. I hope it was worth the wait and you all enjoy it—lots of action in this one! (And yes, Felix shows up, I promise!) The title is from Henry V by Shakespeare.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In her daydreams of how today’s reunion would go, Annette had considered every scenario, from everyone turning their backs on her to the ultimate fantasy—leading her friends’ efforts to convince Edelgard to embrace peace. Nothing she’d envisioned would be an exact match, of course; she knew that life was rarely predictable on things that mattered. But she’d expected to be prepared for anything.</p>
<p>Yet here she was, trudging through the wreckage of the town of Garreg Mach to save a group of child thieves from an unscrupulous master. It was cold in the pre-dawn light, they were outnumbered, and there was very little to feel positive about.</p>
<p><em>It could be worse</em>, she told herself firmly. <em>At least Mercie and Ashe don’t hate you.</em></p>
<p>Loosing a sigh, Annette gripped her hood around her face to ward out the brisk winter wind, wondering how Mercie seemed so calm and collected—not to mention warm. The two women flanked Ashe, who pretended to have a strong grip on Gwid.</p>
<p>“That’s the house,” the boy said loudly, the sullenness in his voice surprisingly believable. “Gervaise’ll save me, ya know!”</p>
<p>Annette was impressed by his acting skills for one so young. Maybe the kid would have a future on the stage one day. She prayed he hadn’t manipulated them into this dangerous endeavor as adeptly as Lorenz Hellman Gloucester had played the violin at the Academy—with technical precision, calculated to please his audience.</p>
<p>Ashe chuckled, and the level of coldness his usually warm gesture held was almost terrifying. Annette hadn’t realized how well <em>he </em>could act, either.</p>
<p>“I’m sure your master will know a good bargain when he sees one, kid,” he said.</p>
<p>“We’re about to find out,” Mercedes murmured.</p>
<p>Annette swallowed, and pulled up her most neutral expression, channeling the presence Shamir Nevrand might have had in her place. No one Annette had known was harder to read—even Felix had betrayed hints of his feelings in the agitated movement of his fingers, or the impatient tapping of his feet. Shamir had been a blank wall, yielding nothing for an opponent to work with.</p>
<p>Gwid stopped in front of a timber-framed and white plaster house that had once been beautiful. The years hadn’t been kind to it—some of the thatched roof had thinned in one section of the house, and below it, a large section of plaster that had cracked off. Why had Gervaise chosen a house with so much damage?</p>
<p>Annette blinked when she detected a bit of movement from the straw. Wait… had there been a person up there just now? That was why the thatch was so disrupted up there! The building’s height over its neighbors meant that anyone watching for activity from high up had an unobstructed view of most of the neighborhood.</p>
<p>Annette felt the weight of someone’s gaze, and turned to meet Gwid’s hazel eyes. He gave a slight nod, and Annette realized he’d read her thoughts—they’d been spotted. Ashe halted in the middle of the street, in plain sight of anyone inside the house, and kicked off the plan.</p>
<p>“Gervaise Bonnette, I have one of your Kin here,” he said loudly, like he was calling out out a neighborly greeting. “If you want him, you must meet my terms.”</p>
<p>The wooden door opened and Fleer appeared, hostility emanating off her like a miasma. She leaned against the door jamb like she owned the entire place herself, with a few other children watching from the doorway, their postures stiff with uncertainty.</p>
<p>“Ain’t this surprisin’,” she drawled. “Figured you were dead, kid.”</p>
<p>Annette could almost feel the resentment burning off of Gwid, but he stuck to his acting role—a combination of sullen and fearful.</p>
<p>“Get Gervaise,” Gwid said. “This guy is former Kin. He knows the streets, and he wants in the action.”</p>
<p>The dark-haired girl sneered. “Hah! You think Gervaise values you that much?”</p>
<p>“I’m sure he values information more than petty Kin squabbles,” Ashe answered. “I’m only going to give my offer once, and if he’s not here for it, that’s no skin off my nose.”</p>
<p>He folded his arms and waited. Fleer glowered, then spun on her heel and hollered into the house for the Master. Without waiting for a reply, she returned, with nine children ranging in age from ten to upper teens flanking her. They lined up along the front of the house in a neat row, as though in formation for inspection by a military officer.</p>
<p>Annette wasn’t sure what to expect of the infamous Gervaise Bonnette, but it wasn’t the tall, narrow shouldered, sandy-haired man who sauntered out—who was clearly better fed than his young charges. However, his attempt at finery was incomplete: his clothes were of uneven quality, his beard was untrimmed, and his hair was clearly in need of a wash. Annette tried not to curl her lip at the strong odor of cheap perfume he exuded, coupled with sweat.</p>
<p>Unlike the children, he strolled directly into the street and faced them with the same aura of power that Ashe had projected—only his was far more cocky. Folding his arms across his chest, he fixed oddly pale green eyes on them each in turn. His voice was not the rough growl Annette had expected, more like a smooth tenor that seemed at odds with the rest of his appearance.</p>
<p>“Strange hour for the sparrow to feed.”</p>
<p>“Any hour works for the hawk to hunt,” Ashe replied.</p>
<p>Gervaise’s posture shifted, but Annette couldn’t read the intention behind the movement—or whether it boded good or ill.</p>
<p>“Well then… you are Kin after all. Awfully nice clothes you got there, fella. Movin’ up in the world. What d’ya want with me humble little gang?”</p>
<p>Ashe dropped his arms to his side, but still gave off a relaxed air. “I’m looking to set up shop. This place appeals to me, just love the spooky atmosphere keeping people away.”</p>
<p>Gervaise snorted, and Annette noticed that his teeth were blackened in a few places, with a big gap where an incisor ought to be. This ruined town was far from a prime location—unless someone was trying to lay low. They just needed to sell that impression.</p>
<p>“The way I see it, we could combine our gangs, or I will challenge you for control,” Ashe continued. “It’s your decision.”</p>
<p>“With that posh accent o yours, you scream Fhirdiad from a mile away, Kin,” Gervaise said. “I hate them high-falutin’ types leaching off the land while we starve in the streets. I’ll never work with the likes of nobles.”</p>
<p>Ashe shook his head. “I’m not a noble, and never will be.”</p>
<p>“Close enough to one, you got their fancy speech and bearing.” Gervaise took Ashe’s measure like he was a ware in a merchant’s shop, one he clearly thought was overpriced. “You might have been Kin once, but you ain’t one now. I ain’t a sparrow for you to feed on. I’m the biggest hawk you’ve ever seen.”</p>
<p>Ashe straightened, and his voice went cold. “Then combat it is. Man to man, one weapon each. Anyone else joins in, that side forfeits.”</p>
<p>Gervaise’s stiffened shoulders was the only sign he was taken aback. Annette shot a glance towards Fleer, who wasn’t nearly as good at hiding her emotions. Was that a flicker of fear over her face? Good. Let them worry.</p>
<p>“You think Kin rules still apply to you?” Gervaise asked, dropping his arms to casually rotate his shoulders, like so many of Annette’s old classmates had done for warm-ups in the training grounds.</p>
<p>“Once Kin, always Kin.” Ashe smiled thinly.</p>
<p>Fleer stalked forward to take her place at Gervaise’s right side. “I could take this pretty boy myself, Gervaise. Let me fight him.”</p>
<p>Gervaise brushed her off. “This one’s too clever for the likes of you. Gwid ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he’s fleet as they come, and got nicked.”</p>
<p>Fleer scowled, and glared at Annette like it was somehow her fault. It took all of her self restraint not to react.</p>
<p>“Fine, Kin, I will accept your challenge,” Gervaise said. “But not with that fancy bow you got there. Fair’s fair in a fight, and we do bladed weapons or I set my gang on you.”</p>
<p>“Very well.” Ashe nodded. “Fifteen minutes for preparations and control by combat begins.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>*  *  *</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The arena for the bout was set up in the street in front of the house. A makeshift oval was created by a combination of piled stones, piles of broken goods, and mangled armour the children brought out of the house. Once the combatants approved the layout, the children lined up on the end of the street Annette and the others had approached from, while Gervaise and Fleer stood near the house and went through a pile of assorted weaponry.</p>
<p>Unlike them, Ashe had one steel ax he carried, a light two handed weapon with a large head and wickedly thin blade at the edge. Annette watched the rhythmic motion of his whetstone sharpening the blade, while Gwid whispered warnings at them.</p>
<p>“Gervaise moves fast for his height, an ax ain’t gonna do much if you’re going big,” he said, displaying a decent knowledge of fighting for a street kid.</p>
<p>“Axes don’t only require hitting with the head,” Ashe murmured in reply. “I can attack with the haft—that’s the handle—as well.”</p>
<p>“Huh. Well, that may work better on him than I seen before. But Gervaise don’t fight fair if he’s cornered,” Gwid hissed. “I seen him win many battles by tricks when his speed ain’t enough.”</p>
<p>“Clearly he’s no Felix,” Annette muttered, receiving a slight chuckle from Mercedes and Ashe, and a confused look from Gwid.</p>
<p>“Who?”</p>
<p>“A friend of ours who will hopefully join us soon,” Mercedes said. “He was the fastest swordmaster at the Academy.”</p>
<p>Gwid looked confused, and Mercedes explained the purpose of the institution that used to be housed at Garreg Mach.</p>
<p>“Nobles really do live in a different world, don’t they?” he said when she finished. “Trained to fight in all the weapons and magic? Sounds grand.”</p>
<p>“We had students who were commoners,” Ashe replied, testing the edge of his ax for sharpness. Satisfied, he stowed his whetstone in his pack. “I was one, and there were many others.”</p>
<p>“Hmm.” Gwid looked unconvinced.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of opportunity out there if you know where to look,” Ashe continued. “I’ll explain more once this is over.”</p>
<p>“Assuming ya win,” Gwid muttered, fear in his eyes. “It ain’t just Gervaise ya gotta watch. Fleer’s as tricksy as him, and might try to help him. She wants control here.”</p>
<p>At the mention of the sullen teenager, Annette looked in her direction, watching with some surprise when Gervaise bypassed a shiny silver ax and selected a shortened steel sword with a wide, slightly curved blade. From the dull look of the metal, it was clearly near the end of its life. He swung it around, nodded in satisfaction, then sheathed it at his side and began whispering to Fleer.</p>
<p>Annette’s eyes narrowed. Why had he chosen a sword that was close to needing repairs? Did Gwid truly understand what fighting looked like outside of a street context? Maybe all of his warnings had been for naught. Goddess willing, defeating Gervaise would be straightforward and quick.</p>
<p>“Let’s get this going, boy!” Gervaise shouted.</p>
<p>Ashe stood and rolled his shoulders, and flashed them all a reassuring smile before he entered the fighting ring. Inside, he and Gervaise stretched out while everyone spread out to watch from the perimeter.</p>
<p>Annette, Mercedes, and Gwid stood alone across from the house, facing Fleer and several younger children. The two combatants took up positions on opposite ends of the oval, Gervaise oddly choosing the far right side, away from where all of the Kin had lined up.</p>
<p>“Goddess above, please protect Ashe and any innocents,” Mercie murmured from Annette’s right.</p>
<p>Annette silently echoed the prayer, trying to hide her anxiety behind stoicism.</p>
<p>
  <em>Be </em>
  <em>calm like</em>
  <em> Shamir, Annie. </em>
  <em>Emotionless like the Professor</em>
  <em>.</em>
</p>
<p>While Annette tried to channel the two toughest women she knew, Gwid stood stiffly by her left elbow, his shoulders visibly tense. The sky above them was lightening by degrees, but still lacked the pink streaks presaging dawn’s arrival. Annette had no idea how much longer they had, but she worried that the sun’s blinding rays would hit Ashe right in the face when it rose in the east, behind Gervaise. No wonder he’d chosen that end.</p>
<p>“Let the challenge begin!” Fleer shouted, raising her arm dramatically.</p>
<p>She sliced the air to signal the beginning of the bout. Ashe had barely settled into stance when Gervaise darted forward, lunging a quick attack at his chest. Ashe evaded the blade and retaliated with a quick series of jabs with the butt of the ax, startling his opponent into a hasty parry.</p>
<p>They separated, and exchanged several more blows, testing each other’s speed and strength. The gang leader was definitely quick for his size, although Ashe’s strikes consistently held more power. Annette’s main concern was how long Ashe would last in a battle of endurance if the other man kept dancing out of the way.</p>
<p>Ashe opened with a jab at Gervaise’s sword hand. Gervaise seemed slower at dodging it, and Ashe attacked again, launching a flurry of jabs with the haft that forced the taller man to keep defending. Then Ashe made a powerful descending blow with the head of the ax. Caught off guard by the maneuver, Gervaise barely got his sword in place to parry. The ax clanged loudly against the steel, skidded down the blade, and scraped along the metal plate of Gervaise’s leather bracers, denting the metal.</p>
<p>“I just got these, ya wretch!” Gervaise roared, dancing backwards several steps.</p>
<p>Ashe advanced, his ax back in position over his right shoulder, and Annette held her breath, knowing he had the momentum.</p>
<p>“Saints above, look at that!”</p>
<p>Fleer’s shout drew everyone’s attention, and Ashe froze mid-step, startled. Gervaise’s sword clattered against the cobblestones, and he lunged at Ashe, pulling a second weapon out from inside his jacket—a dagger with a wickedly long blade that held the unmistakable green glow of venin.</p>
<p>“No!” Annette breathed, when Gervaise made a wide arcing cut towards Ashe’s gut.</p>
<p>Ashe jerked backwards, curving his torso in. When he retreated, she saw the fabric of his tunic flapping oddly and gasped. Dazed, Ashe reached down and touched the area in shock.</p>
<p>Mercedes clutched Annette’s arm. “He’s been hit!”</p>
<p>Ashe raised his hand and stared at the reddened tips of his fingers in disbelief. He blinked, his green eyes wide in his face, and Annette finally got a good look at the wound. The blade had opened a superficial gash that bled a lot, but hadn’t done significant damage. The poison was another story.</p>
<p>“That was cheating!” she shouted, releasing Mercie’s grip and storming to the edge of the arena. “Ashe won by default.”</p>
<p>“Did I hear a tiny mouse squeaking at me?” Gervaise raised a hand to his ear and made a show of pretending to listen. “Complaining about rules ya don’t even understand?”</p>
<p>“You said only one weapon, and you had that on you the entire time!”</p>
<p>“The rules never said nothing ‘bout back-up pieces if one broke,” Gervaise grinned, flashing a blackened canine. “I dropped me sword, and just happened to have me favorite venin dagger handy—with a mighty strong poison. Feeling its effects all ready, lad?”</p>
<p>Ashe looked dazed, his pupils dark and round in the light green of his irises. “Ugh, it’s like my insides are boiling.”</p>
<p>Mercedes hurried to Annette’s side, her posture stiff with concern.</p>
<p>“Can’t fight any more can you, boy?” Gervaise crowed. “One minute more without a strike from you, and it’s over.”</p>
<p>“Then I will heal him now, and you can win,” Mercedes said, her face pinched by repressed rage and horror. “We’ll be on our way.”</p>
<p>“Oh ho, that ain’t how it works, missy!” Fleer crowed. “Kin rules are to the death!”</p>
<p>“What?!” Annette and Mercedes exclaimed in unison.</p>
<p>Looking wildly at Ashe, Annette blanched when he nodded. It felt like she’d taken the blade to the gut instead. The whole time they’d discussed the plan, Ashe had never acknowledged he was risking his life! No wonder Gwid had looked at him like he was a knight in shining armour. Had Ashe so fully embraced his chivalric ideals he was willing to die for them here?</p>
<p>Annette raised her hands, feeling the sting of magical energy. “If you try to kill him, I will strike you down.”</p>
<p>“Annette, stop...” Ashe groaned. “No one else was supposed to get hurt.”</p>
<p>“They can fight us both!” Mercedes said, her own hands ready to cast a glyph at a moment’s notice. “Surely you’re not afraid of two ‘soft women,’ are you?”</p>
<p>“Kin! Prepare yourselves!” Gervaise shouted.</p>
<p>The air echoed with the collective sound of weapons being drawn.</p>
<p>“No! I will continue!” Ashe shouted, forcing himself back into fighting stance. “I will abide by the rules I agreed to.”</p>
<p>“But they cheated! Fleer and Gervaise both!” Annette cried.</p>
<p>“If you fight with magic, the match is forfeited, and I’ll be open to assassination by the Kin for the rest of my life,” he said, giving them both a resigned smile. “I would die either way. Gervaise didn’t technically break the rules, and I won’t, either.”</p>
<p>Panic and anger rampaged through Annette’s mind, and their combined force had her vibrating, with no direction in which to act. Once again, she’d been left in the dark on a major decision by someone she cared about; powerless to do more than sit on the sidelines. She wanted to scream, but couldn’t make a sound.</p>
<p>Ashe repositioned his ax, and refocused on the bout. Gervaise chuckled, and relaxed into his own position, confidence in his eventual victory oozing from every pore.</p>
<p>The fighters circled, and Ashe moved farther to the left, towards the gathered Kin, who still had their weapons at the ready. The men exchanged a few more jabs and parries, with Ashe clearly ailing. Gervaise’s speed was somehow a bigger asset with a dagger, and Annette bit down on her lip when Ashe barely deflected a strike and retreated. Gervaise darted forward and something flew through the air, narrowly missing his head before it dropped heavily into the space between both men.</p>
<p>Everyone froze, and stared at the ground.</p>
<p>The wooden shaft of a javelin quivered, its pointed head embedded in the road.</p>
<p>“What’s going on here?” shouted a voice Annette hadn’t heard in over five years.</p>
<p>Ingrid!</p>
<p>At last, their friends were here! She clapped her hands together in relief at the sight: Ingrid raced towards them on her white pegasus, Sylvain galloped on horseback behind her, and, several yards behind them, a dark-haired man dressed in teal and white raced at high speed on foot. It had to be Felix—whom else moved that fast?</p>
<p>Ingrid landed a few feet behind Gervaise and Sylvain pulled his horse to a halt several feet to her left, leaving a gap in the middle. The pinkish orange rays of the breaking dawn burst forth, highlighting the unmistakable blue-black hair of Felix Hugo Fraldarius when he joined his friends.</p>
<p>Annette stared, hoping this theatrical entrance presaged a turn in fortune.</p>
<p>“Wasn’t expecting a welcoming committee,” Sylvain said lightly, although the look in his eyes was anything but. “Usually it’s beautiful women wanting a piece of me.”</p>
<p>“Who dares interfere in Kin business!” Gervaise roared, shaking his dagger hand threateningly.</p>
<p>“Why is Ashe fighting alone?” Ingrid demanded, before fixing her glare on the fuming gang leader. “He needs help!”</p>
<p>Ashe violently shook his head, and nearly stumbled from the motion; the poison was working faster than any Annette had seen before. He reached down and pulled the javelin out of the road, then tossed it harmlessly outside of the arena.</p>
<p>“This isn’t what you think!” he said. “You mustn’t interfere.”</p>
<p>Mercedes stepped away from Annette towards the newcomers, her arms out in entreaty. “Ashe challenged this cruel man for control of his street gang to save these children, through thieves’ rules of combat.”</p>
<p>The other three listened intently as Mercedes summarized the events leading up to the fight. Annette’s gaze darted between them, cataloging the major changes in each since the Academy. When had Ingrid cut her hair so short? And was Sylvain always that tall, or was it the armour he wore that made him seem so much older?</p>
<p>Her gaze returned to Felix and remained. At first glance, he seemed like an improved version of what he’d always been: a finely honed weapon. But there was an indefinable quality to him that drew Annette like never before. It took several moments before she identified the source—the impatient energy of the younger Felix had evolved into a wary stillness, a maturity she’d never have believed him capable of.</p>
<p>The angry young man from the Academy had been replaced by a hardened soldier. He reminded her of the surface of a still lake, so deep one couldn’t see into the bottom. To anyone else, that might have felt terrifying, but all Annette saw was the chance to save Ashe. If anyone here understood the stakes, it was Felix.</p>
<p>Mercie paused for breath, and Annette took the initiative to make her case. “In a bout of honor, the rules aren’t meant to be broken. But this was a fixed fight from the beginning!”</p>
<p>Like magic, Felix’s eyes locked on her, and she stared back, imploring him to see things her way.</p>
<p>“Gervaise deliberately picked a sword in terrible condition, then ditched it for a venin blade when his puppet caused a distraction,” she continued.</p>
<p>Felix’s mouth pinched into a flat line, and his amber eyes flashed. “Only cowards cheat.”</p>
<p>Annette held her breath, praying he would act—even knowing how much he hated the ideals of chivalry and knighthood. Felix had always lived by his own code, but something inside her believed it was based around what honor meant to him.</p>
<p>
  <em>Do something. Please.</em>
</p>
<p>Felix held her gaze for a heartbeat. Then he strode into the fighting ring and positioned himself in front of Ashe. Annette’s heart soared.</p>
<p>“Now wait a minute—” Gervaise protested, when Felix withdrew his sword and dropped into fighting stance.</p>
<p>“You changed weapons in the middle of a match of honor. We’re exchanging fighters,” he said calmly. “Let’s get on with it.”</p>
<p>Annette was dimly aware that Sylvain had moved. His horse’s hooves clattered on the cobblestone behind her, and he made his way to the opposite side of the ring from Ingrid, riding past the row of frightened looking children. Turning to face the arena, he set his lance across his lap and eyed everyone that glanced his way in challenge, as though daring them to flee past him.</p>
<p>“You can’t fight me and win control of my gang!” Gervaise sputtered, palpable fear in his voice. “Only Kin can deliver the killing blow, or leadership is open. Anyone else can join the fight!”</p>
<p>Felix smiled without warmth. “I won’t kill you when I win, but you’ll wish I had.”</p>
<p>Annette looked at the children, still primed to attack despite their fear. “Call off your Kin before they get hurt.”</p>
<p>“I won’t fight you when you ain’t Kin!” Gervaise roared, backing up several steps. “Rush him!”</p>
<p>A gangly teenager several inches taller than Felix darted out of the shadows, a rusted iron sword raised over his head like a club. Annette cringed and looked away when he came within Felix’s strike zone, knowing he’d be dispatched in a single movement. The heavy sound of a thud as his body hit the ground echoed in the air, and Annette made herself look back—startled to see that the boy had simply been knocked out.</p>
<p>“Who’s next?”</p>
<p>Felix returned to his opening stance, two hands gripping the hilt of his sword just above his head, the blade pointed towards Gervaise.</p>
<p>The other children put away their weapons and melted into the shadows. Sylvain remained in place, his posture watchful. Across the road, Ingrid took up a similar stance, her lance at the ready.</p>
<p>Mercedes reached out and gripped Annette’s shoulder, and it occurred to her that the older woman was drawing strength from her—a rare reversal. She laid a hand over Mercie’s and squeezed reassuringly.</p>
<p>“You can heal Ashe when this is over,” she whispered. “It’s going to be okay.”</p>
<p>Her friend gave her a tight smile, and squeezed back before dropping the contact.</p>
<p>Annette returned her attention to her surroundings and realized that Gwid was no longer nearby. A quick scan of the perimeter revealed he’d vanished entirely—and so had Fleer.</p>
<p>She didn’t trust that girl farther than she could jump, and vowed to keep looking for her. Fleer likely had another dirty trick in mind.</p>
<p>Gervaise, on the other hand, appeared out of ideas, and it was viscerally satisfying to see naked terror on his face.</p>
<p>“The Kin will get you all!” he shouted, his eyes bulging in panic.</p>
<p>Felix approached him slowly. “Good. Hopefully one of them can give me a decent bout. Now, do you have the decency to reclaim some honor for yourself before you lose?”</p>
<p>Left with no choice, Gervaise changed the position of the dagger, so it was almost like he gripped an ice pick, with the blade facing down and in. It rested against the underside of his arm, along the damaged leather bracer.</p>
<p>Annette suddenly recalled the one time the Professor had demonstrated a knife fight at the Academy. She had used that exact same posture against Felix—and had beaten him in one move. Annette had never forgotten the look of astonishment on his face. Had he ever mastered the counterattack?</p>
<p>A frosty smile crossed Felix’s lips. He drew in closer to the taller man, opening himself to strike range, and made the first move—a downwards strike. Gervaise rushed in with the dagger arm held aloft, and Annette’s mind superimposed the Professor’s face over his, reminding her what had followed: how Byleth had used her arm to brace the force of her parry, then grabbed Felix’s sword arm with her free hand, and rotated the dagger blade forward as she quickly thrust towards his gut. That fight had ended in under five seconds.</p>
<p>This one lasted even less.</p>
<p>Felix pulled his blow back before Gervaise could make contact with the blade, and redirected his sword in a forward thrust, underneath Gervaise’s raised arms. A flash of light split the air above Felix’s head, and the Fraldarius crest flared brightly, making Annette blink. It was followed by a cry of pain when several inches of Felix’s blade entered Gervaise’s gut. The dagger clattered to the cobblestones and the taller man dropped to his knees, shock on his face. Felix twisted the blade and then yanked back his sword. He wiped both sides of the blade clean on Gervaise’s shoulder, and sheathed it.</p>
<p>Immediately, Annette saw the symbolism of what he’d done. Felix had returned the same handicap that Gervaise had given Ashe, with garnish. She’d seen enough sword wounds to know this was only a killing blow if not healed within hours. Although Annette generally hated seeing anyone in pain, she mentally applauded the move.</p>
<p>“This victory is yours, Ashe,” Felix said. “Do you have your weapon?”</p>
<p>Ashe lifted his ax off the ground, his face pale but determined. Staggering a bit from the effects of the poison, he joined Felix in front of the wailing gang leader, who was rolling in the road, whimpering threats. Felix placed a steady hand on Ashe’s shoulder, and the two exchanged a nod before the former walked away and stood off to the left.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry it’s come to this, Gervaise,” Ashe said, sounding genuinely sad. “I wish you’d made better choices with your life. Especially treating these children with the care and respect they deserve.”</p>
<p>“Just get on with it!” Gervaise moaned.</p>
<p>Ashe raised the ax. “If that’s what you wish. Peace be with you in the afterlife.”</p>
<p>A flash of movement drew Annette’s eye—a small body leaning out a second floor window of the gang’s house. A bow materialized in the person’s hands, and Annette found herself moving forward with the realization that it was Fleer, the bow was venin, and she was taking aim at Felix’s neck.</p>
<p>
  <em>No, no, no, NO!</em>
</p>
<p>Time slowed to an incremental crawl. Each second felt like an eternity while she ran. Magical energy burned at her fingertips when Fleer pulled back the bowstring and released the shot.</p>
<p>Eyes trained on the path of the arrow as it flew towards its target, Annette launched herself into its path, pulling the glyph up for her spell.</p>
<p>“You’re done!” she shouted.</p>
<p>It felt like the slowest cast of Wind she’d ever performed. The spell burst out of her hands in a fury, knocking away the arrow inches from her face. It dropped harmlessly to the ground, and the wind followed its natural trajectory, towards the girl who’d fired the shot.</p>
<p>In slow motion, Fleer’s mouth opened and produced an ear-piercing shriek. Annette watched her spell knock the girl so hard off balance she spun drunkenly before falling out of the window. She landed heavily on the ground, unmoving.</p>
<p>Breathless, Annette gaped at the girl’s still form, stunned it was there. For a long moment, everything was silent but for the buzzing in her ears and the pounding of her pulse.</p>
<p>“I could learn from that,” she heard behind her, in a tone of wonder.</p>
<p>Felix Hugo Fraldarius, the man whose life revolved around training for all battlefield scenarios, was <em>impressed</em> by what she’d done.</p>
<p>The world she’d known before was gone—and so was the Annette of the last five years.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Apologies for the longer fight sequences if that’s not your thing, it’s been years since I’ve written any with this degree of detail. I had to consult the expert (aka my husband) to make sure my information was accurate, but entertaining (I hope!). Feedback is hugely appreciated!</p>
<p>Come visit me on <a href="https://twitter.com/Kaerra3">Twitter!</a></p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The title is inspired by the lines from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “If We Shadows Have Offended, think but this, and all is mended—” because it just sang to me. The chapter title is also Shakespeare, from this line in Hamlet: “Or to take arms against a sea of troubles/ And by opposing end them.”</p><p>Come visit me at <a href="https://twitter.com/Kaerra3">Twitter!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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